Norway peace envoy keen to testify on Sri Lanka war: Report

Sri Lankans read through names of fallen soldiers on a memorial for those who died in the decades-long conflict against the Tamil Tigers, during National War Hero's Day in Colombo on May 19, 2014. A top Norwegian peace envoy said he is willing to testify to any international war crimes investigation over alleged rights abuses during Sri Lanka's separatist conflict, a report said on Sunday. -- PHOTO: AFP

COLOMBO (AFP) - A top Norwegian peace envoy said he is willing to testify to any international war crimes investigation over alleged rights abuses during Sri Lanka's separatist conflict, a report said on Sunday.

Norway's former international development minister Erik Solheim said he was prepared to give evidence on the final months of the war in Sri Lanka, where he had tried but failed to broker peace.

"The war was won at a tremendous cost and I will (act as a) witness before any recognised international tribunal investigating Sri Lanka," Solheim told the local Ceylon Today weekly.

Solheim's mission was formally aborted by Colombo in April 2009, a month before the end of the decades-long war between the military and Tamil Tiger rebels.